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Vista Chino
Vista Chino were a desert rock band from Los Angeles, California, initially known as Kyuss Lives!. They are best known as a band featuring members of Kyuss following a John Garcia Plays Kyuss performance before eventually writing original music together. The band released one album in 2013 with tours following until their disbanding in 2014. History Formation, Kyuss Lives! and Lawsuit (2010 - 2013) In 2010, a European "John Garcia plays Kyuss" tour was announced, starting with a gig at Roadburn Festival. His backing-band was composed of Belgian and Dutch musicians from Agua de Annique, Kong, Celestial Season and Arsenal. The setlists were almost exclusively Kyuss songs. In June 2010, former Kyuss members Nick Oliveri and Brant Bjork joined John Garcia onstage to perform "Green Machine" and "Gardenia" during a headlining appearance by "Garcia Plays Kyuss" at Hellfest in Clisson, France and they also appeared onstage with Garcia in other concerts on the tour, representing 3⁄4 of Kyuss' Blues for the Red Sun lineup. In November 2010, Garcia, Oliveri and Bjork announced a European tour under the moniker "Kyuss Lives!", with Bruno Fevery serving as the band's guitarist. In reference to the new band name, Garcia stated in the January 2011 issue of Rock-A-Rolla that "there is never going to be a Kyuss without Josh Homme" and that "hopefully in the future him and I can get together and do some writing.". According to Oliveri in an interview with Antiquiet, Homme was never even asked about participating in the reunion. Kyuss Lives! followed with tours of Australia and New Zealand in May. They toured Europe in June 2011 and announced a North and South America tour for late Summer and Fall, 2011, with Scott Reeder playing many dates outside of the US (This was while Nick Oliveri was dealing with personal legal issues at the time). The tour wrapped up on New Year's Eve 2011 at Cherry Cola's Rock 'n' Rolla Cabaret and Lounge, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Kyuss Lives! expressed interest to record a new studio album for a summer 2012 release.VerdamnisAccessed 12th August 2016 In March 2012 it was revealed that Josh Homme (Eventually with Scott Reeder joining in on the lawsuit) had filed a federal lawsuit against John Garcia and Brant Bjork alleging "trademark infringement and consumer fraud" over the use of the Kyuss name. Nick Oliveri left Kyuss later that month, stating "managerial issues" and was replaced by Billy Cordell. Brant Bjork (Along with John Garcia) spoke out to Rolling Stone magazine about the situation and the long-standing clash between Homme and Bjork: In August 2012, Judge S. James Otero of the United States District Court Central District of California ruled partly in Homme's favor, declaring that Garcia and Bjork could not release audio recordings under the Kyuss Lives! moniker and encouraging them re-brand under a new name. However, the band scored a partial victory as the court ruling permitted the band to use the Kyuss Lives! name and logo for performances and promotional materials, provided the words "Kyuss" and "Lives" were printed in "equally-prominent lettering."Rolling StoneAccessed 12th August 2016 In response to the whole situation the band opted to rename themselves "Vista Chino" to avoid legal hassles as the musicians involved all still had an intent to record.AntiquietAccessed 12th August 2016 In November 2012, Nick Oliveri announced that he would be rejoining Kyuss Lives!. Kyuss Lives! played their final performances under that name at the Soundwave Festivals in 2013. However, Mike Dean played bass on all the 2013 Soundwave shows and sidewaves. Despite being in the recording sessions for Vista Chino's album, Oliveri had not been seen to actively participate with the band at that point, having not appeared in recent photoshoots or toured with the band. From 2012 - 2013 Mike Dean had been acting as the band's touring and session bassist, having played one track on the band's album, Peace. In August 2013, singer John Garcia said that Vista Chino "is a three-piece band with himself, Brant drummer and Bruno guitarist. It always will be." but also described Oliveri as "an honorary band member". Brant explained why Oliveri left Kyuss Lives in the same May 2012 interview with Rolling Stone: Vista Chino, Peace and Dissolution (2013 - 2014) On 23 May 2013, it was announced that Vista Chino had signed with Napalm Records. That same day a new song, "Dargona Dragona," was posted on the band's SoundCloud page. Their debut album, Peace, was released on September 3, 2013. Guest appearances included Mike Dean on "As You Wish" and Chris Cockrell on "The Gambling Moose." The album peaked at #14 on the Billboard Heatseekers Album chart. The first show played under the new moniker was on 9 June 2013 at the Orion Music and More Festival. A tour of the United States with Black Pussy followed. In October 2014, former bassist Nick Oliveri claimed that the band had broken up due to a falling out that led to Garcia leaving the band. During this period, Bjork and Garcia decided to continue their solo careers. Oliveri gave his thoughts as far as the lawsuit, recording Peace and the band's breakup in an interview with Antiquiet: Despite the inactivity the band has remained active for a time on social media, however, and on 31 December 2014, posted a picture of Garcia and Bjork, and teased a new album for 2015 though ultimately nothing has come of it. Aftermath *Brant Bjork would resume his solo career with a new moniker known as The Low Desert Punk Band. This moniker would release Black Flower Power on 17 November 2014 to positive critical acclaim. Since it's release, Brant has gone on to release several more solo albums under his name as of 2018 along with a reissue campaign via Heavy Psych Sounds and RidingEasy Records. *John Garcia went on to release his eponymous solo debut in 2014 with a host of guest musicians including Oliveri. As of 2018, Garcia had released a second solo album with a third in 2019 while touring Europe. Garcia has also been involved with reunions with Unida, Slo Burn and Hermano. *Nick Oliveri returned to his current projects such as Mondo Generator and Dwarves. Oliveri would also have involvement with Moistboyz, Svetlanas and Bloodclot!. Oliveri would begin a rarities compilation series entitled N.O. Hits At All with Heavy Psych Sounds, with five volumes released between 2017 and 2018. *Bruno Fevery would go back to a career as a session guitarist, also working with the likes of Tjens Matic and Arsenal. *Scott Reeder would concentrate on Sun & Sail Club before later joining Fireball Ministry. *Billy Cordell would eventually join the Whizards. *Mike Dean would concentrate back on Corrosion of Conformity. Discography * Peace (2013, Napalm Records) Members * John Garcia - Vocals (2010 - 2014) * Bruno Fevery - Guitar (2010 - 2014) * Brant Bjork - Drums, Vocals (2010 - 2014) * Mike Dean - Bass (2013 - 2014) * Nick Oliveri - Bass, Backing Vocals (2010 - Mar. 2012, Nov. - Dec. 2012) * Billy Cordell - Bass (Mar. - Nov. 2012) * Scott Reeder - Bass (2011) References Category:Band Category:Desert Rock Category:Stoner Rock Category:Los Angeles Category:California Category:USA Category:John Garcia Category:Brant Bjork Category:Nick Oliveri Category:Billy Cordell Category:Mike Dean Category:Kyuss Category:Bruno Fevery